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Find out the scoop on the CAVS from award-winning sports writer Bob Finnan.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Game 40: Cavs at Nuggets

DENVER NUGGETS (23-16) 127, CAVS (8-32) 99
at Pepsi Center
RADIO/TV: WTAM/Fox Sports Ohio

WHAT HAPPENED: The Cavs started the game with eight players, but had just seven available midway through the first quarter. It’s not a surprise the Cavs lost by 28 points.

Under the best of conditions, this was going to be a difficult game. It was one of those "schedule" losses. Not only was it on the tail end of a back-to-back set, it was the final game of their five-game West Coast trip. They finished 0-5.

It was also in Denver where they’ve struggled through the years.

Guard Mo Williams started and played just 5 minutes before leaving with a hip flexor strain – an injury that has been lingering for weeks. If Daniel Gibson returns against the Suns on Wednesday, perhaps Williams should take a few games off.

Center Ryan Hollins wasn’t with the team, as he left to attend a family funeral.

The Cavs (8-32) have now lost 23 of their last 24 games, including 13 in a row. On the road, they’ve dropped 19 consecutive games.

They allowed 80 points in the first half, which matched a franchise record for a Cavs’ opponent. It could have been worse, as Nuggets guard Ty Lawson missed a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer.

The Cavs are headed toward the worst record in the league. In that regard, they're doing one heck of a job.

They have guys playing prominent roles that perhaps shouldn't be in the NBA. That's the kind of rebuilding effort the team is facing.

Let me get something off my chest. Why didn't they just say they were rebuilding from the start instead of their ridiculous stance that they weren't.

"We're not going to put any limits on this season," GM Chris Grant said.

Please. Don't insult our intelligence.

This team was extremely lacking from the start. Why not just say it? The minute LeBron James announced his intention to go to Miami, start the rebuilding process then. In essence, that's when the decline started.

No one knows where it will end.

But the Cavs might not ever get back to the heights reached in recent years. Never.

STARTERS
SF Alonzo Gee (6-6, 219) vs. Carmelo Anthony (6-8, 230)
PF Antawn Jamison (6-9, 235) vs. Sheldon Williams (6-9, 250)
C J.J. Hickson (6-9, 242) vs. Nene (6-11, 250)
SG Manny Harris (6-5, 185) vs. Arron Afflalo (6-5, 215)
PG Mo Williams (6-1, 195) vs. Chauncey Billups (6-3, 202)
INACTIVE LIST
Cavs – G Daniel Gibson, F Leon Powe, F Joey Graham.
Nuggets – F Chris Andersen, F Kenyon Martin.
OFFICIALS
Tom Washington, Tony Brown, David Guthrie

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